Sight
by Shezzi
Summary: AU, post Liars, Guns and Money Pt 1: OK, where to start: Scorpius IS dead.  The money bugs are loose on Moya...the rest you'll just have to read and see.  Rated for possible later chapters
1. Chapter 1

AN: OK, this is my first ever Farscape Fanfic, and only my second fanfic period (at least that i've published) so PLEASE if you have time, let me know what you think! I could really use the feedback. Criticism is good, just please be nice about it?

OK, legal stuff...don't own anything, never have, but hope to get a dog soon

John lounged in the chair, eyeing the chessboard carefully. Aeryn sat opposite, watching him. "So, this piece is a …knight? And it moves in an 'L' shape?"

"That's right. It is also the only piece on the board which is allowed to jump over other pieces, which is why it is the only other piece used in the first move, see?" He demonstrated quickly.

"OK, I get it." She quickly ran through the movement descriptions he had given her thus far, those for pawns, rooks, knights and bishops, incongruously turning her pulse pistol over in her hands. "So, what about these pieces?" She asked, indicating the king and queen.

"That's the queen. It can move in a straight line any direction, provided nothing is blocking its way. This is the king. It can move in any direction, but only for one square. Capturing the king is the aim of the game. Understand?"

"Sort of. I think I'll get it when we actually play a game." She grinned. "You want to?"

"Well, why not? I didn't teach you how just so we could sit here and stare at the board."

"So, white moves first, right?" John nodded, and reaching out, moved a pawn forward two squares. Aeryn considered his move carefully, and was just about to make one of her own, when the clamshell on the wall came to life as pilot commed. "Commander, Officer Sun, you are needed on the command. Now!" He yelled, then the image flickered out.

"Pilot? Pilot, what's the matter?" Called Aeryn, even as they both ran out of Crichton's quarters towards the command. They arrived, a flurry of arms and legs, trying to see what the problem was.

"Oh no" said John, staring at the scene before their eyes. "No, no, no. This is not happening. You are not doing this to me!"

"Oh yes we are" replied Aeryn with a grin, grabbing his shoulder and propelling him onto the command and into the middle of a birthday party.

"I should never have told you about birthdays, should I?" He said, shaking his head at his own foolishness.

"Probably not. But you did, so, here we are. Happy birthday, John" she smiled at him.

"Why now?" He asked, staring around in complete bafflement.

"Why not now?" She replied, grinning. "It's just a meal, John. Sit down and enjoy it." She pushed him into a seat.

"Do we have time for this?" He asked, concerned.

"We have nothing to do until we arrive at the slave auctions, John, which won't happen for at least nine solar days. We might as well enjoy the break while it lasts." She sat opposite him and passed over a plate. "We made all of your favourites, so you might as well enjoy it."

"Alright then. At least you guys don't know 'Happy Birthday'." He chuckled, and started serving himself. "Did you make smoked pronga sinew, Aeryn?"

"Of course, John. Boy, you are so gullible. We have been working on this for two solar days, and you had no clue what was coming."

"It was slightly too easy, wasn't it?" Suggested Chiana, "you were so easily distracted, Crichton."

"Yeah, well, I think Scorpy helped a bit with that." Crichton's words sobered the group briefly, and he immediately regretted them. "Come on, lets enjoy the food" he grinned around, trying to make everyone feel better. They all sat and served themselves platefuls of their favourite dishes. Soon they were laughing and joking, enjoying each other's company as they had so many other times. Crichton was laughing at a story Aeryn was telling when he suddenly saw Scorpius sitting at the end of the table. He raised a glass in John's direction, as though toasting him. "Happy Birthday, John" John froze, then shot to his feet and ran from the chamber.

"John? John, what's wrong?" Aeryn followed him, trying to catch up. "John, is it Scorpius? John, you have to fight him." She grabbed his arm, swinging him around to face her. She took his face in her hands and stared into his eyes. "John, concentrate. Look at me. There is no Scorpius here; he's just in your head. He has no power, he has no control. The real Scorpius is dead, remember? John?" Crichton's eyes closed, and he relaxed.

"Hey, baby." He smiled gently. "I'm alright. Sorry about that" he grimaced. "Let's go back so I can apologise to the others, shall we?"

"They understand, John. You have nothing to apologise for; this is all on Scorpius. He put that frelling piece of dren in your head. You have to keep fighting it, we will find a way to fix it." She kissed him gently, then turned to lead the way back to the command. They arrived back together, and were just sitting down to continue their meal, John muttering apologies, when the clamshell suddenly flickered to life.

"Pilot, is something wrong?" Asked Aeryn, concerned.

"I…I do not know. I cannot remember what I was going to say…" his voice trailed off. John and Aeryn exchanged concerned looks, then jumped to their feet. "We're on our way, Pilot" they ran out of the command towards the den.

"What do you think is wrong?" John asked Aeryn as they ran up the tier.

"No idea, but whatever it is, it can't be good if it's messing with Pilot's short term memory." They reached the door to Pilot's Den and swiped the door control. The door didn't open. Aeryn swiped it again, impatiently, but it still did not respond.

"What the frell is wrong with this thing?" She demanded impatiently.

"Just a theory, but it might have something to do with that" said John, pointing down the corridor, where the lights were dimming on and off.

"Something is seriously wrong, John. We have to get in there and try to talk to Pilot."

"Back door?" Asked John, referring to the entrance through the access shaft.

"Yep" replied Aeryn, turning away from the door and sprinting down the corridor to the access shaft. They ran up it and dropped through the roof hatch into the Den.

"Pilot? Are you all right?" Asked Aeryn, concerned. Pilot wasn't moving, but his eyes were still open. "Pilot?" Aeryn jumped over the control board and cupped his face in her hands. "Pilot?" There was no response, but Aeryn shifted her hands, feeling his skin. "John, he's burning up!" She swore loudly. "He must be sick. It must be something Moya has…" just as she was saying this, facing John across the control panel, Moya accelerated, so hard and fast that John, who had nothing to support him, lurched, but stabilised himself, until, just as suddenly, Moya came to a complete stop. "JOHN!" Screamed Aeryn, reaching out, trying to grab him, as he was thrown across Den, until he hit the wall, head first, with a sickening thud.

Aeryn threw herself across the walkway to where John lay slumped on the platform. "John? John, can you hear me?" She held his face in her hands, and tapped his cheek gently. Suddenly, the lights in the chamber came up to full, almost blinding brilliance. Aeryn ignored them, squinting slightly to concentrate on John. She ran a hand around to the back of his head, and pulled it away bloody. She quickly checked if he was breathing, and, finding that he was, pulled up one of his eyelids. "John! John, it's time to wake up now!" She slapped his cheek again, lightly. Suddenly, he jerked under her hands, his eyes snapping open.

"Aeryn?" He groaned. He tried to move, but she pinned him down with a hand to his chest.

"Don't move, John. You might have a serious head injury" as she spoke she ripped the sleeve off her top and used it as a compress to slow the bleeding.

"What happened with the lights?" Asked John, sounding vague and confused.

"It's a Peacekeeper alteration. They come on full force when there is something seriously wrong with the Pilot, so that it is easy to see to fix it."

"What are you talking about, Aeryn? The lights…aren't on…" John's voice faded away towards the end of the sentence.

"You can't see anything, John?" Aeryn waved a hand back and forth in front of John's eyes.

"Nothing. I see nothing" John started to panic.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Ooooh, reviews for me? Thank you! You make my muse very very happy. And the plot bunnies who are turning rabid at my insistance not to have too many stories going at once. Anyway heres the next chapter. If you like it, please reveiw, because that's what keeps me posting more!**

"_Nothing. I see nothing" John started to panic. _

"John, calm down. We'll fix it, don't worry. I'm gonna get Zhaan in here to take a look at you." She hit her comms, and called "Zhaan? Zhaan, I need you in the Den right now! Something's wrong with Pilot, and John's been hurt." A tear slipped down Aeryn's cheek, and splashed down onto John's face.

"Hey, hey, are you crying?" Asked John, concerned. Aeryn quickly blinked back the tears.

"You aren't supposed to be worrying about me, John. You're the one who's hurt." She stroked his forehead gently, cradling his head in her lap.

"Aeryn? Aeryn, I can't get the door open. The controls are not responding" called Zhaan over the comms.

"Oops. Sorry, Zhaan, I forgot. You'll have to come through the access shaft to get to us."

"On my way, Aeryn. How's Crichton doing?" Asked Zhaan, sounding compassionate even over the comm.

"He can't see anything, Zhaan. He hit the back of his head, really hard. He's bleeding a lot, and…well, you get the picture. Pilot…he's not unconscious, he seems more…catatonic, completely unresponsive." John groped with his hand, and Aeryn took it in her own, clasping it reassuringly. They waited in tense silence, hearing Zhaan's footfalls in the access shaft above their heads. She dropped lightly to the floor, and made her way over to them.

"Aeryn, if we can't get that door open, we're going to have trouble getting him out of here" she commented, as she went down on her knees and started examining Crichton's injuries.

"I know. I was just thinking about that; I think I know how to unlock the door controls from the control panel. The only problem will be if it's actually Moya's doing, if she thinks she's protecting Pilot." Aeryn shrugged.

"John, what do you see?" Asked Zhaan, turning her attention back to him for the moment.

"Nothing, Zhaan. Its just…black."

"Aeryn, we need to get him to the med lab. You try to get the door, I'll get D'Argo to bring the gurney." Aeryn lifted John's head gently out of her lap, but he still cried out in pain at the movement.

"Sorry John. Can't be helped" Aeryn said, as she made her way across the Den to Pilot. She vaulted over the control panel and quickly pressed a few buttons. The door to the Den swung open, and the others ran in.

"Here, John. I will take your pain" said Zhaan, putting one hand on his forehead, the other on his chest. John relaxed as Zhaan's gift took the pain from his body, when suddenly he went completely ridged. His back arched and his body convulsed violently.

"JOHN?" screamed Aeryn from across the chamber.

"D'Argo, hold him down. Keep him from biting his tongue" cried Zhaan, placing her palms on Crichton's temples. Aeryn threw herself down on her knees beside him and grabbed his arms to stop them hitting the floor.

"What's wrong, Zhaan? What is it?" Demanded Aeryn hysterically.

"There is pressure building inside his skull; it is pushing against his brain and causing the seizure. There!" She exclaimed suddenly, and Crichton's body fell lax on the floor. "Let's get him down to the lab" ordered Zhaan quickly, and D'Argo picked him up and laid him on the floating stretcher. "Aeryn, I think you had better stay with Pilot" she added. Aeryn was torn; her heart wanted to be in one place, her head knew she was needed in another.

"Please don't ask me to do that, Zhaan. He needs me. If I'm not there when he wakes up, he's going to panic!" She insisted, taking Crichton's hand.

"Aeryn, Pilot needs you too" Replied Zhaan, who could be just as insistent when the need arose. Aeryn sighed deeply but nodded in acquiescence.

"Keep your comms open at all times. I'll see what I can learn here" she leant

down and caressed John's cheek gently, then turned away, leaving him to Zhaan's care. She quickly crossed back to Pilot, screaming inside at the circumstances. She scanned Pilot's data screens, but could find nothing wrong with Moya, except, of course, that she was hanging motionless in space. She turned her attention back to Pilot, who still slumped catatonic at his post. "Pilot, can you hear me? Blink if you can hear me." Pilot didn't respond. Aeryn reached around behind his head and checked his pulse. It was strong, but slow. It suddenly sped up under her fingers. Pilot jerked and seemed to come to himself.

"Officer Sun? What happened?"

"Pilot! You can hear me?"

"Yes, of course. I am fine" Aeryn took his face in her hands and found his skin to be quite cool to the touch.

"You were completely catatonic, Pilot. Your temperature was way up, your pulse incredibly slow. Any idea what could have caused that?" Pilot was silent for a moment, then replied sadly

"Moya wishes me to convey her apologies to you. Because our connection is still forming, I do not have all of the protection of her vast immune system. It took her time to eradicate the infection in me, and she could only do it after she had eradicated it in herself. Did anything happen while I was unconscious?" Pilot asked solicitously.

"Nothing that you could have prevented, Pilot, but I suggest you get us moving now. I'm needed down in the medlab, I'll talk to you later." She ran out of the Den and down, into the bowels of the ship.

Meanwhile, in the medlab, Zhaan was running a scan on Crichton's still unconscious body. "His physiology is remarkably similar, yet dissimilar, to a Sebacian's" she commented. "Here's our problem" she added, indicated the back of his skull, were there was a single crack, and under it, inflamed-looking brain tissue.

"How does it look, Zhaan?" Demanded Aeryn, running in through the door.

"I thought you were taking care of Pilot" Zhaan said, concerned.

"He's fine; he just had an infection that it took some time for Moya to take care of, because their connection isn't complete yet." She walked up beside the bed that John was lying on, and took his hand in her own. "So, how does it look, Zhaan?" She demanded impatiently.

"I'm not sure. I can hasten the healing of the bones, but the brain tissue will have to sort itself out. It may never heal completely."

"You're sure he won't have another seizure?" Aeryn asked, clinging to John's hand.

"No, I'm not. I was able to relieve the pressure, but if it builds up again, he could have another one." Zhaan was compounding some herbs as she spoke. "This will speed the healing of the bone and hopefully help to reduce the intracranial pressure. Beyond that we will just have to wait and see." She took one of her vials and added several drops to her mixture. "See if you can wake him up; it will be easier if he can swallow this himself." Aeryn turned her attention to John while Zhaan continued working on her mixture.

"John? Can you hear me?" She sat on a stool next to his head and picked his hand up off his chest. "John?" She caressed his cheek gently with her other hand. He jerked suddenly under her hand.

"Ae…Aeryn? What happened?" He groaned.

"You had a seizure, John. You're in the medlab. How are you feeling?" She raised his hand to her mouth and kissed it.

"My head hurts" he replied, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I know, John. I know. You have a skull fracture, and you've done some damage to the underlying brain tissue, we don't know how much. Zhaan is making something that will help the bone to heal. Do you think you can swallow it?"

"I'll try" he replied, not sounding at all certain.

"How's it coming, Zhaan?" Called Aeryn, causing John to wince in pain at her volume. "Sorry" she whispered contritely.

"Finished" declared Zhaan triumphantly. She approached the couch, holding a small bowl in her hand, which contained several small medicinal balls. Aeryn took it from her, indicating that she would give them to him.

"Here, John. Chew on this" she pressed one of the balls to his lips. He parted his lips, and she released the ball. He chewed carefully, painfully, then swallowed. Aeryn sighed with relief, when John suddenly choked, and vomited. He struggled to raise himself and clear the mess out of his mouth. Aeryn helped him to roll onto his side, stroking his hair gently as he retched, then retched again. He finally lay back, exhausted. A DRD rolled over and began cleaning up the mess. Zhaan went to his head and spread her hands over it without touching him, then rested them gently on the skin. Her eyes clouded over, turning a dark blue, and John sighed as his pain eased. Aeryn grabbed a cloth and carefully wiped his face, cleaning around his mouth, then threw it into the waste receptacle.

"Try again now, Aeryn. He may be able to handle it" said Zhaan. Aeryn gave John another ball, which he carefully chewed and swallowed.

"One more, John" said Aeryn, picking up the last of them. She gave it to him and he quickly swallowed it. "How long will that take to repair the bone, Zhaan?" Asked Aeryn.

"It should already be done, Aeryn. I'll just check" and she took the scan and ran it quickly over Crichton's head. The crack in his skull had vanished, however, the underlying brain tissue still had the same unwholesome appearance. "The bone is completely healed" she declared. "The rest…we will have to wait and see" Aeryn kissed Crichton's fingers gently. He brushed his hand against her cheek, then tried to sit up.

"Hey, hey, where do you think you're going?" demanded Aeryn, attempting to hold him down.

"To the head" replied Crichton, forcefully. He shrugged off her hands, and struggled upright. Aeryn stopped trying to restrain him, instead raising him gently to a sitting position.

"Are you sure you can stand, John?" She asked, concerned.

"No, Aeryn, I'm not, but…I have to try" he swung his legs off the couch, and, grasping Aeryn's forearms, stood upright. He staggered, and she shifted, slinging an arm around his waist.

"Can you?" She asked, sceptical.

"Let me try and find out" he said, attempting to detach her arm from his waist.

"All right, but this is not a good idea" she said, releasing him but standing ready to catch him if he fell. He swayed, but locked his knees, determined to stay upright. He took a step forward, and promptly collapsed. Aeryn caught him before he hit the floor. "Why does nobody ever listen to me?" She demanded rhetorically. She lifted him back onto the bed. "Obviously, that is not going to work, John. I'll get you something" she glanced around the chamber, and grabbed an empty bucket. "Here, use this" she said. "We're not watching" she added, and turned her back as Zhaan did the same. John quickly relieved himself, then attempted to set the bucket down on the floor. It settled fine, but the tipping motion was too much for his body to handle, and he tumbled forwards.

"Frell!" Cried Aeryn, trying to catch him, but missing. She dropped to her knees next to him. "Are you all right, Crichton?" She demanded, trying not to laugh at this rather hilarious chain of events.

"Frelling fine" he replied through his teeth. "I feel as though someone shoved a chip in my head, then a malfunctioning Leviathan tried to crack it open like watermelon. Get me up" he demanded, grimacing. He grabbed for her, but missed. Aeryn winced in sympathy and, grabbing his hands, pulled him upright, and set him down on the bed again.

"I suggest you lie down before you fall again," she said, pushing against the side of his neck, forcing him down onto the pillow, then lifted his legs up onto the other end of the couch. She pulled up the covers and tucked them around his shoulders. "You should try to get some sleep" she said, pulling up a stool and sitting beside him. "I'll stay here" she said, taking his hand and stroking the back of it with her thumb.

"Okay" he replied, his eyes drifting closed. She watched him as his body relaxed and his breathing slowed into a sleeping rhythm. Zhaan rested a hand on Aeryn's shoulder, and she tilted her head to lean her cheek against Zhaan's fingers. A tear slipped from her eye and down her cheek, followed by another, then another. Zhaan brushed them away, and, leaning down, kissed her cheek lightly before exiting the medlab. Aeryn sat quietly watching John, not wanting to disturb him and therefore not moving. After a while she laid her head on her forearms and dozed lightly.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry it took so long, i got side tracked on some other stories...so here is the third chapter, please give me your thoughts, good, bad or indifferent, just please don't be rude...love you all! love xx**

Aeryn was woken by Crichton moaning and writhing on the narrow bed. He started to mumble, but she couldn't understand what he was saying.

"John? John, it's just a dream. Come back to me, John. Wake up" she shook his shoulder gently but received no response, she increased her efforts but to no avail. Instead, his moans started to intensify, until he sat bolt upright with a terrified, pain filled scream. "John?" Aeryn grabbed his face in her hands. "John, are you alright? Take a deep breath. Now, take another."

"Ae..Aeryn? What happened? Where are we?" He sounded so lost and confused that Aeryn had to bite her lip to keep from crying before answering him.

"You were having a nightmare, John. It was just a nightmare, we're still on Moya, in the medlab." She caressed his face gently. "How are you feeling?" He was sweating heavily, and his skin was ice cold.

"Cold, but all right, Aeryn. Help me up?" He requested. She helped him to sit up, then propped him upright with pillows. Just then, Chiana and D'Argo entered the medlab.

"Hey, you're awake! It's good to see you!" Cried Chiana happily. D'Argo grunted sourly, and left.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid that pleasure is entirely one sided" replied John, turning his sightless eyes towards them.

"Still nothing, John?" Asked Aeryn, soothingly. John shook his head, then made as if to stand up. Aeryn put a hand on his shoulder and asked "John, are you sure you should be doing that?" She gestured for Chiana to leave.

"As I already said, Aeryn, no, I'm not sure, but I have to try" he swung his legs around and pushed himself up off the edge of the bed. Aeryn stood ready to catch him if he fell again. He took a step, then stumbled, and stepped again.

"Stop, John. You're about to trip on a box" said Aeryn, and, taking his arm, led him carefully around it. "So, where do you think you are going to go?" She asked, curious.

"I don't know, Aeryn. I just need to stretch my legs. Is there anything to drink here?" He licked his lips, which were dry and starting to crack.

"Well, do you think you could make it to your quarters? We can get some water on the way" offered Aeryn, uncertainly.

"I'll try, Aeryn. What's the worst that could happen?" He asked rhetorically. "Lead on, McDuff" he said, holding his hand out for her. She considered, then took his hand and pulled his arm around her shoulders, snugging hers around his waist, to provide extra support and be able to lead him better. He squeezed her shoulder gently, and they began to walk. He stumbled frequently, and when Aeryn glanced up at him, he was biting his lip in pain. She frowned, but kept her peace, at least for the time being. They reached the galley, and Aeryn grabbed a bottle of water and a couple of cups before heading down to Crichton's quarters. When they got there, she sat him down on the edge of the bed, then, acting on a hunch, she poked him in the ribs. He recoiled, grunting in pain.

"What was that for?" He demanded angrily.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd cracked some ribs?" Demanded Aeryn, at least as angry as he was. "You could have punctured your lungs by moving around in that condition. I'm calling Zhaan to have a look at you. If you're hurt anywhere else, now would be the time to tell me" she added, exasperated.

"Aeryn, honey, what you have to understand is that I can't feel more than one injury at a time. My brain actually protects itself by refusing pain impulses from more than one part of my body. I didn't know about my ribs until I moved, because, until then, my head had been a lot worse, and was therefore the pain that was getting through to my brain" he explained, slurring his words slightly. "Besides, if Zhaan healed my bones, it stands to reason she healed all of them, not just my skull." As he was saying this, his words got more and more unintelligible, as though his tongue was too thick for him to use.

"John? Are you feeling all right?" Asked Aeryn, taking his face in her hands and watching him closely.

"Just thirsty, baby. Just thirsty" and he licked his lips again.

"OK, just hold on, John. I'll pour us some water" Aeryn took the bottle and unscrewed the cap, quickly filling the two cups, one only half way. She handed the half full cup to Crichton, holding it until he had a firm grasp on it. He steadied it with two hands, then lifted it to his lips. He sipped, swallowed, then sipped again. Aeryn watched him drink, then drained her own cup. She refilled it, and sipped more slowly. "More?" She asked, when John had finished his.

"Yes please" he replied, holding the cup out towards her, and nearly hitting her in the face with it in the process. She dodged, and took the cup gently from his fingers. She refilled it and handed it back, then sat watching him. She thought back to her own brief period of blindness following a solar flare to the face, remembering how helpless she had felt, and her sympathy grew. When he had finished the second cup, he reached down and set it on the floor. He yawned, and stretched out his shoulders. "You tired?" Asked Aeryn, yawning in response.

"A bit" he replied, with a shrug.

"Get some sleep. I'll be here" she said, pushing him down on the pillows, and starting to unlace his boots. She pulled them off, then tucked the blankets in around his shoulders. She sat down on the floor beside the bed, holding his hand, and laid her head on top of it. She listened to his breathing change, once more, into a sleep pattern. She slowly relaxed, curling her legs up around herself, and fell asleep leaning against the bed.

Zhaan sat meditating in her chamber, murmuring under her breath. Suddenly, her com unit crackled, and Pilot's voice interrupted her musings.

"Zhaan, we do not like to interrupt you, but Moya and I need to speak with you. Could you perhaps come to my chamber so we may speak without being overheard?" Requested Pilot in his usual diffident, apologetic way.

"Certainly, Pilot. I'll be right there" she replied, standing and pulling on her robe at the same time, fastening it at the shoulder. She sighed sadly, wondering when she would next have the opportunity to stop and meditate, but put that thought aside, making her way up to the Den to find out what was bothering Pilot.

"Pilot? Is something wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"Zhaan, what happened to Commander Crichton? How was he injured?" Zhaan paused, trying to formulate an answer that would not burden Pilot with guilt for something he could not have prevented. She decided to opt for the truth.

"I don't actually know, Pilot. I wasn't here when it happened. I suggest you ask Aeryn."

"I already did. Her only response was that it was in no way my fault."

"She wouldn't lie to you, Pilot" Zhaan pointed out. "She cares about you too much for that."

"She also said that there was nothing I could have done, even if I had been awake." Pilot looked doubtful on this point, and Zhaan knew that he felt that this was a lie.

"I don't know, Pilot. That's something you'll have to take up with Aeryn." She stroked his arm, then turned to leave.

"Pa'u Zhota Zhaan!" Cried Pilot, sounding shocked. "You would lie to someone you are sworn to help and protect?" He sounded deeply hurt.

"No, Pilot, I would never lie to you. I honestly don't know if you would have been able to prevent Crichton's accident because I don't actually know what happened, beyond the fact that he hit his head over there" she gestured across the Den. "Oh, do you think you could assign a DRD to watch him? He can't see, and as much as she wants to, I don't think Aeryn will be able to stay with him all the time. If you could just quietly keep an eye, let us know if he gets into any scrapes"

"You want me to baby sit him?" Pilot queried, interrupting.

"Yes, I suppose you could call it that" replied Zhaan guiltily.

"Without letting him know that I'm doing it" added Pilot, sounding uncomfortable.

"Well, I think he would be upset if he knew that we felt this was necessary, Pilot. Don't you?" She asked, trying to make him see her perspective.

"I don't disagree in principle, Zhaan, but I think you need to understand, one of the reasons that ships' Pilots are so trusted is because we respect our passenger's privacy. I would not feel comfortable doing this without Commander Crichton's knowledge."

"He won't allow it if he does know about it, Pilot. Therefore, he can't know if we're going to be able to pull it off." She grimaced. "I don't like having to lie to him any more than you do, Pilot, but it's for his own protection. We need your help in this, Pilot. You want to protect him, don't you?" Zhaan desperately tried to make Pilot see why they had to do this.

"Of course I do, Zhaan. The DRD is programmed to shadow his movements and I'll keep a constant eye. If anything happens, I'll be able to let you know."

"Thank you, Pilot. I know that you don't like to do this, but it is necessary. Thank you" she stroked his cheek, then left the Den. She was making her way back to her room and passed by the open door to Crichton's. Glancing in, she saw Aeryn curled up beside the bed, fast asleep. Smiling gently, she entered the room and silently collected another blanket. It was a testament to Aeryn's exhaustion that the ex-peacekeeper did not even stir as the blanket was tucked around her somnolent form. Zhaan paused briefly by Crichton, stroking his forehead, checking on his injuries. Finding his condition to be satisfactory, she exited the chamber and returned to her meditations.

Chiana and D'Argo lay next to each other, arms around each other's shoulders. "I feel terrible about what happened to Crichton" Chiana whispered to D'Argo, who grunted angrily.

"Whatever happens to him he brought upon himself" he growled in reply, still furious at Crichton's lack of action over the plan to rob the depository.

"You know that's not true, D'Argo" Chiana snapped back, getting angry in her turn. "He was trying to help you, to help all of us, and most of all to help Pilot and Moya, without whom we can do nothing! What the frell is wrong with you?" By the end of her final sentence she was screaming in his face, her cheeks the colour of ash, the colour of anger in a Nebari. She stood, dragging the rug with her, wrapping it around her shoulders and storming out of the chamber.

"Chiana! CHIANA!" Yelled D'Argo, then fell back, cursing himself. Chiana made her way along the corridor, cursing in every language she knew. She stormed into her own quarters, and pulled some clean clothes off her shelves. She pulled them on, still muttering curses under her breath.

"Where does a girl like you pick up language like that?" Demanded a sardonic voice from an air vent.

"Rigel! What the frell are you doing in my air vents?" She demanded, furious, as she yanked the cover off the vent and dragged him out by the throat.

"Well, the view is good, and the language is frequently…educational." Chiana ground her teeth, but settled on throwing Rigel across the chamber, where landed, scraping his face across the floor.

"Stay out of my chamber, you frellnik!" She stormed over, grabbed him by the neck of his robes and ejected him forcefully out the door. She turned around and threw herself down on her bed with a groan. A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, and she dashed it away angrily. She gave up on sleep, and, pushing herself up, went to the galley to eat some of the leftovers from the aborted birthday party.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it! Oh, by the way, I don't own Farscape or any of its characters, that distinction belongs to one Rockne S. O'Bannon...and boy am I jealous! love xx**

_John walked down the hall towards command, Aeryn by his side. He squeezed her hand, their fingers interlaced, then lifted it to his lips, kissing her thumb gently. She smiled up at him, before turning to face him and pulling his head down to kiss him passionately on the lips. He wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her against him as he kissed her back._

_"John! How lovely to see you again! And Officer Sun!" Suddenly John was unable to see or move. He was tied to a chair, and all he could do was listen. "So, Officer Sun, whatever shall we do with you?" He heard Scorpy say gloatingly. Aeryn screamed, a drawn out, pain-filled sound that seemed to go on forever._

_"Aeryn? Aeryn?" John yelled, fighting against his bonds. Suddenly he was free, and the screams had died down to whimpers. "Aeryn, baby, where are you?" He groped with his hands, crawling towards where the whimpers seemed to be coming from._

_"You'll never find her, John. I'll keep doing this" and Aeryn screamed loudly, "and you can't do a frelling thing to stop me" he laughed as Aeryn screamed even louder._

_"STOP IT!" Yelled Crichton. Suddenly the surface he was lying on shook, and he heard Aeryn calling his name._

_"John_, John, wake up. Come back to me, John. It's just a dream, please wake up."

"Ae…Aeryn?" He gasped.

"Breathe, John. Take a deep breath. Now, take another" she coached him, trying to calm him.

"Oh...oh God, what a nightmare" he choked out between breaths. Aeryn stroked his cheek gently, trying to calm him. He caught her fingers in his own and clung to them, trying to reassure himself that she was all right. "I was asleep, right? That was all a dream?"

"Yes, John, it was a dream. Sounded pretty awful, though. Would you like to talk about it?" John squirmed on the mattress, then shook his head.

"Not really, Aeryn, thanks anyway." Aeryn sighed softly, frustrated, but let him have it his way.

"You hungry?" She asked, trying to sound bright and happy.

"Actually, I'm starving." He chuckled "doesn't seem, with everything that's going on, that I should be starving right now, does it?"

"Well, we've been asleep for arns, and it's not like you ate very much at the party anyway" offered Aeryn, also chuckling.

"Well, then, lets head to the galley, shall we?" He said, pushing himself up off the mattress and standing unsteadily. Aeryn quickly wrapped an arm around his waist once again, and he wrapped one around hers. She leant her head against his shoulder as she led him out of the room, carefully sidestepping a lone DRD in the passageway. When they reached the galley, they found Chiana sitting, still muttering under her breath. She glanced up when she heard them enter, and raised a hand in greeting before turning her attention back to her food.

"So, John, what do you want to eat?" Asked Aeryn, sitting him in a chair and surveying the food that had survived Moya's sudden stop-start manoeuvre.

"Any smoke pronga sinew left?" He asked hopefully. Aeryn chuckled and, taking a plate, served him some, setting the plate in front of him.

"Here you go, John. Still fresh" she said, guiding his hand to the plate rim. He ran his fingers lightly over the surface of the plate until he found a piece of food, which he carefully lifted in his fingers to his mouth. He chewed slowly, then swallowed, and grinned.

"You are really good at making these, Aeryn" he took another mouthful, and sat quietly chewing it. Aeryn grinned and sat down opposite, grabbing a bottle of water, two cups and an extra plate, which she loaded with food from the platters still littering the table. She poured two cups of water, setting one down near Crichton's plate, and draining the other herself.

"There's a cup of water to your right, John. Forward about two inches…there" she said as he found the base of the cup, then carefully lifted it to his lips. He sipped, and set the cup down on the table where he could find it again.

He bit into a piece of sinew, then stopped as fear clenched his gut in an icy fist. He choked, and spat the piece back into his hand. "Is Pilot okay, Aeryn?" He demanded, concern evident in his actions.

"He's fine, John. He woke up just after your seizure; because their connection isn't complete, Moya wasn't able to clear up his infection straight away." She reached across the table and stroked Crichton's cheek gently. "Don't worry about him, he's fine. Just concentrate on getting better, okay? And finish eating that" she added, looking at his hand.

"Yes mom" replied John mockingly, tossing the piece back into his mouth and swallowing it whole.

"And don't do that! You'll choke!" She slapped his arm lightly.

He flinched away and cried "Ow! Be careful, woman! Zhaan might have healed my bones, but I am one giant, walking bruise! That hurt" he made his lower lip quiver, and Aeryn chuckled appreciatively.

"Big baby" she teased, gently rubbing the place she had slapped. Chiana snorted mirthlessly from where she was sitting.

"Who's that?" Asked John, rearing back in confusion. He sniffed the air carefully. "Pip? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Crichton, it's me. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I though you knew I was here. It's not like Aeryn didn't know. How did you know it was me?" She asked, curious.

"I could…smell you" he replied, after thinking about it.

"You? You can't smell anything" scoffed Chiana. "You're nose is totally deficient." Aeryn laughed softly, exchanging a look with Chiana. Chiana smiled at her, a smile tinged with sadness. Aeryn gave her a searching glance, raising a questioning eyebrow. Chiana shook her head slightly, indicating she did not want to talk at the moment. At that second, D'Argo appeared in the doorway. Chiana glanced at him, then away, staring down at the plate in front of her. Glancing from one of them to the other, Aeryn put two and two together easily, and decided it really wasn't any of her business. She turned her attention back to her own food, and to John, who had eaten everything she had put in front of him, and drained his cup.

"You want some more?" She asked him, as D'Argo stood at the door and watched.

"No thanks. I'm full" he replied, sounding tired. He leaned back in his seat, stretching slowly. D'Argo stared at him with anger smouldering in his eyes, before looking at Chiana, and his gaze softened.

"Chiana…" he began, but she jumped to her feet and stormed past him and down the corridor. "CHIANA!" He yelled, exasperated.

"D? What's up?" Demanded John, concerned.

"None of your frelling business, Crichton! Leave me the frell alone!" He stormed down the corridor, following Chiana. John looked stunned and hurt, and Aeryn reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Just give him some time, John. He's teetering on the brink of hyper rage right now. Just stay out of his way, all right?" She squeezed his hand, and he shifted his fingers in her grip so that he could squeeze hers back.

"No argument from me, Aeryn. I've seen hyper rage once too often as it is." He grinned, and Aeryn was suddenly struck by how out of focus his eyes were. To distract herself from the tears that were threatening she refilled John's cup and set it back down next to his food.

"There's some more water, John" she took his hand and guided it to the cup.

"Thanks Aeryn" he smiled softly and raised the cup to his lips. He sipped and set it back down on the table. "Did Zhaan say how long this is going to last?" He asked, indicating his eyes.

"She's not sure, John" Aeryn replied, hedging slightly, trying not to tell him what Zhaan had actually said, and silently praying he wouldn't ask.

"Well, then, I guess we'll just have to wait" he replied with a shrug, and Aeryn breathed a silent sigh of relief. Just then she noticed a DRD sitting unobtrusively on the shelf on the side of the room. She dismissed it from her mind; the things where everywhere onboard Moya, although they weren't often seen sitting still. She focused on finishing her meal so she could get John back to his quarters. John sat quietly, occasionally taking a sip of his water. Aeryn finished her meal and sat back, replete.

"Well, that wasn't half bad, if I do say so myself" she commented. "One or two things could have used a touch more seasoning, perhaps, but other than that, it was very nice." John nodded in agreement.

"The pronga sinew was great, Aeryn. So, what now?" He asked her, slurring his words slightly.

"John, are you feeling all right?" Asked Aeryn, as Crichton raised a hand to his head.

"Something…doesn't feel…" in the middle of his sentence his eyes rolled up in his head and he started to convulse.

"ZHAAN! GALLEY, NOW!" Screamed Aeryn, slapping her com as she vaulted the table and lowered Crichton onto the floor, cushioning his head and grabbing his jaw to prevent him from biting his tongue. Zhaan came bursting in through the doorway, and dropped to her knees, cursing underneath her breath. She clamped one hand on Crichton's forehead, and placed the other more gently on top of his head. She concentrated, her eyes turning deep blue, and Crichton's convulsions slowed, then stopped. He drew in a shuddering, gasping breath, then opened his eyes.

"John? Can you hear me?" Asked Aeryn, pressing her cheek against his hand. He blinked several times, dazed, then seemed to come to himself.

"Aeryn?" He coughed, clearing his throat, then asked "what happened? We were…eating, weren't we?" He sounded lost and confused. Aeryn exchanged a glance with Zhaan.

"You had another seizure, John. Just breathe; it's going to be all right. I'll take care of you." She ran her fingertips through his hair, and he yawned, his eyelids flickering.

"I'm tired" he stated, yawning again. His eyelids closed, and Aeryn and Zhaan were left looking at each other over his somnolent form.

"What are we going to do, Zhaan? This is serious. He's totally incapacitated. Blind, weak, and having seizures with no kind of warning. Is there anything else you can do?" Aeryn raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"There may be something, but I will need some time to work on it, and it may not even help. Don't mention it to Crichton yet; I don't want to raise any false hope, if it doesn't work. Agreed?" Aeryn nodded emphatically in response to Zhaan's fierce expression, then turned her gaze once more upon Crichton. "How are we going to get him out of here? I don't think D'Argo is in any mood to help" she said, worried.

"We'll carry him between us" replied Zhaan, watching as Aeryn gently caressed Crichton's face.

"All right, lets get him up then" she replied, taking one of Crichton's arms while Zhaan took the other. They hauled him to his feet, draping his arms around their shoulders and wrapping theirs around his waist. They half carried, half dragged him back to his cell, where they laid him down on the bed. Aeryn snugged the covers in around her shoulders, and, lifting his head gently, placed a pillow beneath it. She yawned hugely, and Zhaan followed suit.

"That's contagious" Zhaan commented laughingly "but we should both get some rest. He'll be fine for now; he'll probably sleep for several arns yet. Go to bed, Aeryn." Zhaan held Aeryn's gaze with her own, trying to force her compliance. Aeryn acquiesced graciously enough, and they made their way out of the chamber together. Zhaan saw Aeryn back to her quarters before making her way to her own where she settled once more into her meditations.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: OK, guys, here's the next chapter...thanx for the reviews! i don't own anything except my imagination, which i hope you think is put to good use...i don't even own this computer, my boss does...so don't sue me, you won't get anything! anyway...on with the story!**

Crichton woke, panting and drenched in sweat, from a dream that he could not remember, beyond that it had been bad. He sat upright and groped around with his hands, trying to discover his location. Upon feeling the size of the bed he lay on, as well as finding his small table with a bottle of water on it, he realised he was in his own chamber.

He took a sip of the water, which made him uncomfortably aware of another physical need. He stood, carefully orientating himself to the room, and walked in what he thought was the direction of the door, holding a hand out in front of him. He found the door closed, so felt around until he encountered the opening mechanism, which he quickly twisted. He exited into the hall and turned right, the fingers of one hand brushing lightly against the wall for guidance. He made his way, slowly and carefully, towards the bathroom. When he got there he quickly relieved himself, then stopped, trying to decide what to do next.

He decided to head to the galley, to see what food was left. He made his way slowly and quietly through the ship, listening carefully to his surroundings. He passed Aeryn's quarters, and hearing her deep, even breathing, was careful to step quietly in his bootless feet. He slipped silently down the hallway, wracking his brains to remember the exact route and location of doors and corners.

About twenty minutes later he completed what would normally have been a two-minute trip. He stumbled over something on the floor of the galley, righted himself and made his way carefully to the table in the middle of the room.

After some fumbling around, he located a chair, a plate, cup and bottle of water. He sat and, going by feel, found several bowls and platters of left over food. He carefully served himself, glad that, out of necessity, most of it could be eaten with his fingers. He carefully poured himself a cup of water, curling his finger over the edge of the cup to feel the water level. He ate slowly, trying to figure out what was what before it reached his mouth.

When he finished eating he sat, trying to decide what to do next. He decided just to go for a walk and stretch out his legs. He made his way slowly from one tier to another, heading for the maintenance bay where he had left his chess set. He carefully ran through the route in his mind, counting doors while following the walls as he would in a maze.

He reached the maintenance bay and followed the shelf around the wall of the room until he found the table and chair he had left there. He sat and fiddled with the pieces, identifying them by feel, setting them back on the board and going on to the next one. He eventually moved to sitting on the floor leaning against the wall, turning one of the queens over in his fingers.

He leant his head back against the wall, thinking about the situation. He had just proved that he could cope on his own, making his way where he wanted to be, so the others, meaning Aeryn, didn't need to worry about him anymore. He fell asleep there, musing over the issue.

Aeryn woke, well rested, in the quiet period that was 'night time' on Moya. She slipped out of bed and, grabbing some clean work out clothes, rather than the tight fitting leathers, headed for the bathroom. She showered and dressed quickly, then headed for Crichton's quarters to check up on him.

She opened the grille and her heart stopped. His bed was empty; she ran down the corridor, checking each chamber as she went. Everyone else was still asleep. Aeryn could feel herself starting to panic and forced herself to stop and think. Where could he have gone? She went to the galley and found the dirty cup and plate, but no Crichton.

"John?" She called, walking down the tier "John, where are you?" There was no answer, and Aeryn was starting to panic again when something suddenly bumped against her leg. She glanced down and there was One-eye, the DRD John broke his first day on Moya. The DRD whirred loudly, moved off a bit, rolled back, then moved off again.

"OK, OK, I get then idea" Aeryn said, following. As soon as she realised where One-eye was heading she ran past the DRD and down the hallway to the maintenance bay. She saw John slumped against the wall and stopped dead, taking in the scene in front of her. He lay quietly, with a chess piece lying in the slightly curled fingers of his right hand. It didn't look like he had had a seizure, and a wave of relief made her knees go weak. She crossed the room, crouched down next to Crichton and, reaching out, grasped his shoulder. "John? Can you hear me?" She shook his shoulder gently and his eyes popped open, startled.

"Aeryn? Is that you?" He asked, reaching up to grasp her fingers.

"Who else, John? Frell, you scared me! Why didn't you wake me up?"

John hung his head, shamefaced. "I didn't think. I knew you where asleep, and I wanted to prove that I could take care of myself so you wouldn't have to worry." He shrugged apologetically.

"And what if you had had a seizure, John?" Aeryn, to make a point, let the fear she had felt creep into her voice. "What if you seized and Zhaan wasn't here stop it? You could have died" her voice rose in pitch and volume as she went on.

John's head sank even lower. "Sorry, I really didn't think" he mumbled, ashamed.

"You've eaten?" She asked, feeling that she had made her point and therefore ready to move on. He nodded, turning the chess piece over in his fingers without turning his head towards her. "How are you feeling, John?" She asked, sitting down next to him, hips touching so he knew where she was.

"Helpless. Hopeless. You know, I once heard somewhere, that life, on occasion, sucks beyond the telling of it, and I thought that I had reached that point a while ago, but it seems that fate had another kick in the head planned for me." Now he turned his face towards her, and she could see the tears sparkling in his eyes. She reached out and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling his head down onto her shoulder and kissing the top of it gently.

"We'll find a way to beat this, John. I promise you, we will find a way to fix this." She took his chin in her strong fingers and lifted his face, turned it towards her and started kissing him gently. He wrapped an arm around her waist, running his other hand over her loose hair, and twining it around his fingers. Suddenly, Moya jerked, a bizarre, hiccuping sort of motion unlike anything they had felt from her before.

"Aeryn, what was that?" Asked John, putting out a hand to steady himself.

"I don't know, but I think I should go talk to Pilot. You're coming with me" she added as an afterthought, pulling him to his feet and draping his arm over her shoulders again. He pulled her in close, leaning his head on top of hers, as they made their way from the maintenance bay to Pilot's chamber. Aeryn smiled softly, enjoying the feeling of John's arm wrapped around her waist. They reached the Den, Aeryn carefully leading John across the walkway to Pilot's platform.

"Pilot, what happened?" Asked Aeryn, concerned. She slipped out of John's grip,

"I am…uncertain, Officer Sun. There is something…not right on Moya. Something…the DRD's can't see it, but it is there. Something…is wrong, Moya is weakening, and she is contracting more and more infections. The kind she can only get through open wounds. They are affecting her functioning…and mine." He shuddered. "You need to find out what is happening to Moya, what is causing these wounds. Until you do, her functioning will continue to deteriorate." He flinched again.

"All right, Pilot. Can you give us DRD's to help?" Asked Aeryn, immediately taking charge of the situation.

"Certainly, I will redirect all who are not performing vital tasks to investigate. I believe I have already identified the primary area being affected. Hammond side, Tiers 18, 19 and 20 seem to be experiencing failures in lighting and strange surges in current."

"We're on our way, Pilot" Aeryn patted Pilot's claw gently, then turned and started to walk away. "Come on, John, let's go" she said, walking away without thinking. John turned to where she had been standing, confused.

"Ummm…Aeryn?" He called, unsure. Aeryn stopped dead, feeling terrible. She had just completely forgotten John's disability…had left him completely lost, stranded in the dark.

"I'm sorry, John" she said, crossing back to him and reaching to take his hand, but when she touched him he flinched away.

"I'm just going to slow you down, it's not like I can help" he declared bitterly. "Just go" he growled.

Aeryn's eyes flashed angrily, but she restrained herself. "Don't be foolish, John. You won't slow me down, and I can't just leave you here" she tried to get through to him, but he just shrugged her hands off and tried to walk away. Aeryn grabbed him, pinning him to the wall. "John, careful! You're in Pilot's Den, remember? There's an abyss approximated one foot in front of you; you fall down there and you will end up dead" John didn't say anything, but he stopped fighting Aeryn's grip. "Now, come on. I need to have you with me, I mean, what's Pilot going to do if you have a seizure, hmm? And don't let me here that dren about you being useless again, understand?" She rapped out the last in a tone of command she hadn't used in some time. He nodded, his expression sheepish. She wrapped her arm around him again and they exited the Den.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I am so sorry it's been so long between chapters, school just went completely insane, but now that I am just working on building a portfolio my updates will (hopefully) become more frequent. Thank you for your patience. Hope you like the chapter, please tell me what you do/don't like...see earlier chapters for disclaimers! love xx shezzi**

Aeryn led the way back to quarters, where she quickly roused the others, telling them what Pilot had said. They quickly divided the area to be searched, opting to work in pairs: D'Argo and Rygel, since Chiana still wasn't speaking to him, Zhaan and Chiana and Aeryn and John. D'Argo refused to look at John the whole time they were making plans, though he kept trying to catch Chiana's eye.

"All right, let's go," Aeryn said, taking John's hand and leading him out of the room to their designated search area: Tier 18. They wandered the hall with a group of DRD's skating along around them. Aeryn had to watch carefully that none of them got under John's feet. She hadn't noticed anything unusual, when John suddenly stopped. "John?" She questioned, concerned. "Are you feeling OK?" He nodded distractedly, turning his head one way, then the other.

"Aeryn, can you hear that?" He asked, sounding puzzled.

"Hear what, John? All I can hear is Moya and the DRD's." She told him.

"There's a…a tapping noise. It's faint, but it's there, under the normal noises. Can you ask Pilot to stop these DRD's for a moment?"

"Sure," replied Aeryn, hitting her comms and relaying the request to Pilot. The DRD's that surrounded them powered down, and John frowned, listening.

"You can't hear that?" He asked her again, and she shook her head, then remembered that he couldn't see her.

"No," she replied, making a mental note to use verbal responses.

"How far am I from the wall to my right?" He asked, reaching his hand out towards it.

"About half a motra…there you go." She carefully drew him up to it, shoving a DRD out of the way with the toe of her boot. John placed his hands flat against the wall and pressed his ear against it. He listened hard; there was the noise, a high, metallic clicking, unlike anything he'd heard on board Moya before.

"Here, listen here," he told her, and she pressed her own ear to the wall, her face mere denches from his. "Can you hear it now?" He asked.

"Yes!" Aeryn exclaimed triumphantly. She quickly knelt, and found a DRD access hatch for the wall; opening it, she looked through, and stared in horror. There were bugs, metal bugs, in Moya's walls. One of them scuttled out the opening, then stopped and sprayed something on the wall. Before Aeryn's eyes, the wall pitted and corroded, leaking fluid. More bugs came out after it, advancing on Aeryn.

"John, I think we're going to have to run," Aeryn told him, grabbing his arm tightly. "Do you think you can?" She asked, staring at his face. He nodded firmly. "All right, let's go!" She dragged him around and they were running down the corridor. As soon as they reached a door, Aeryn sealed it and yelled to Pilot. "Pilot, keep this door sealed. Everyone, John has found our problem." The others called in, giving various renditions on a basic theme: they were on their way.

She wrapped an arm around his waist, leaning her head against his shoulder. John cupped her cheek with his hand, running his thumb lightly over her lips, before lowering his head and kissing her gently. Aeryn wrapped her free hand around the back of his head, pulling him closer, lost in the moment, only to be interrupted by pounding feet in the corridor. They broke apart, both panting slightly, to face the direction the other's were approaching from. Zhaan rounded the corner first, and gave Aeryn a knowing look.

"So, what is it?" Growled D'Argo, completely oblivious to the silent communication occuring in the corridor.

"Metal...bugs" replied Aeryn, slowly. "The money is alive, and it's eating Moya" she added, running what she had seen back through her head.

"We need to catch one, find out about them," declared Zhaan, glancing around and recieving nods of approval from the group at large. "Once we have studied them, and discovered a weakness, we should be able to eradicate them. Also, once we can identify them, they will be easy to track throughout Moya. D'Argo, Rygel, why don't you see if you can catch one." She glanced at the two of them, and they nodded, though Rygel immediately began to complain. Growling, D'Argo grabbed the back of Rygel's thronesled and dragged him away.

Zhaan, Chiana, Aeryn and John were left standing in the hall, unsure of what they should be doing. "John, how are you feeling?" Asked Zhaan, walking over and carefully taking his head in her hands, looking deep into his unseeing eyes. He just shrugged, smiling slightly.

"Been better, Blue," he told her, patting her hand gently. "Been better." Zhaan smiled softly and brushed his cheek gently with her fingers.

"Why don't you go get some rest," she suggested, catching Aeryn's eye and smiling encouragingly.

"I can't rest now, Zhaan. Something's wrong, I need to help." Although he was trying to sound strong and like himself, he came across as pleading, pleading with Zhaan not to take away his ability to help, not to tell him that he wasn't useful. Catching the tone in his voice, Aeryn spoke up quickly.

"OK, then, John, let's start brainstorming some ideas to try out on these bugs when we've got them." Aeryn wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning her head against his shoulder and leading him down the hallway towards Command, while Zhaan headed for her lab.

"Acid, acid's good. Alkaline solutions, too. Fire, although that should be a last resort. Water...if they're mechanical, maybe we could drown them, flood the affected sections? That would be my first suggestion, anyway. But remember, we have thousands of these things loose on Moya, we need a solution that will take them all out at once, we don't have time to hunt them down one at a time." He grimaced, involuntarily raising a hand to his head, which was pounding.

"John?" Asked Aeryn, concerned. She stopped, and turned him to face her, staring into his face. She could see the lines now, lines of pain around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. "How bad is it?" She asked, not even needing to ask if he was in pain.

"It's...not good," he replied, quirking the corner of his mouth up slightly, before leaning down, cupping her chin in his hand and kissing her, his tongue slipping out and teasing her lips, which opened under his mouth, and her tongue teased his as her hands wrapped around the back of his neck, kissing him slowly, then pulling back, smiling against his lips.

"You can't distract me like that," she whispered, her lips brushing lightly against his as she spoke.

"Really?" He asked, chuckling, then he gasped, his legs buckling, and Aeryn caught him, carefully lowering him to the floor.

"Hello, John," oozed an oily, smug voice. Scorpius grinned at John, who was strapped into the Aurora chair. "How are you feeling?"

"NO!" He growled, jerking against the straps. "You do not control me! Get out of MY HEAD!" The chair disappeared, and he threw a fist into Scorpius' face. "What's the matter, Scorpy? Can't cope now that daddy's dead?" He threw another punch, then another. He concentrated, and a gun appeared in his fist. "I'm sick of you, Scorpius, and I'm sick of being controlled. It ends, NOW!" He pulled the trigger, shooting the apparition in the head, and it flickered and vanished.

Aeryn lowered herself to the floor, cradling John, grateful once more for her strength. "Zhaan, something's wrong, John's passed out, I can't wake him. Get down here, now!"

"Is he having a seizure?" Asked Zhaan over the comms as she ran towards the Command.

"No, he's just...out," replied Aeryn, fear churning in her gut, and wrapping an icy fist around her heart.


	7. Chapter 7

See previous chapters for disclaimers! Your reviews stimulate me to write more! Hope you like it, love xx Shezzi

Aeryn sat on the command floor, holding John's head in her lap, running her fingers through his hair, while Zhaan examined him. "Right before, his head was hurting him, I could tell," Aeryn told her, trying not to let her fear show in her voice. From the sympathetic look Zhaan gave her, she wasn't succeeding. Zhaan ran a hand over John's head, pausing at an area behind and slightly above his left ear.

"It's the chip," she told Aeryn, her eyes worried. "It seems to be shorting out, it's sending out slight electrical impulses. They shouldn't be strong enough to do any real damage, but..." she grimaced, concerned. Aeryn gathered John closer to her, rocking him gently. Zhaan, seeing there was nothing more she could do, nodded to Aeryn and quit the room, heading for her lab to await the delivery of one of the creatures for study.

"Fight him, John. He's not real, he's losing his grip, he's dying, you just have to fight, just a little while longer, you hear me?" She bent down and kissed his forehead gently. "You've shown me that I have a heart, and that I want to share it, so don't you dare die on me now, John Crichton!"

_John wandered down a hallway, glancing around as he went. He seemed to be on the 17th Tier, Hammond Side, around where D'Argo had first tried to attack him when he came under the Luxan hyper rage over a cycle ago. John shuddered at the memory, and what he'd been forced to do to escape the enraged beast his friend had become. Suddenly, he caught a flicker of movement in the distance, a flash of long dark hair and black leather. "Aeryn? Aeryn, is that you?" He called, chasing after it. Suddenly, the air was rent by a terrible, pain filled scream. "Aeryn, Aeryn baby, where are you?" He called, running down corridors he no longer recognised. Suddenly he emerged into a familiar chamber. The Aurora Chair stood in all its glory, with Scorpius standing beside it, and Aeryn was strapped in, tears pouring down her cheeks as she stared at the dish, though John couldn't see what it showed from his angle. "NO!" He roared, furious. He started towards her, but found himself glued to the spot, unable to move. _

_Just then, he heard Aeryn talking, calling to him. "Fight him, John. He's not real, he's losing his grip, he's dying, you just have to fight, just a little while longer, you hear me? You've shown me that I have a heart, and that I want to share it, so don't you dare die on me now, John Crichton!" John concentrated fiercely, forcing first one foot, then the other, forward. As he continued, it got easier, as he hung onto Aeryn's words. Glancing up at Scorpius, he saw the blank fear on his face._

_"What's the matter, Scorpy? Can't control me anymore? Funny that, you see, I've __realised__ that you are nothing. You're all suggestion and bluster, no real power any more. You can't do anything to me now. So why don't you just go away!" _

John bolted upright in Aeryn's arms, struggling blindly against the restrictive grip. "John, John it's all right, I've got you. You're fine, just relax." Aeryn stroked his hair gently, trying to calm him. Slowly her words broke through his terror, and he relaxed, sweat soaked, against her. She brushed her fingers over his cheek, and he captured them in his hand, drawing them to his lips, and kissing and nibbling them gently. Then he straightened suddenly.

"Aeryn, I think I know what to do for Moya. Have we succeeded in isolating them, and retrieving one for study?" Aeryn quickly relayed the questions, and received affirmative answers.

"So, what's your idea, John?" asked Aeryn, curious.

"Water and electric current. If just drowning them doesn't work, run an electric current through it. It should be safe for Moya, but Pilot would know more about that than I do. Anyway, that would be my suggestion. Flame and acidic or alkaline solutions would all be extremely harmful to Moya, but I think this is probably our best bet." Aeryn nodded her understanding.

"Can you stand? We'll go down to Zhaan and see what happens when we try that." She carefully helped him up, taking most of his weight when his legs shook. She wrapped her arm tight around his waist and slung his arm across her shoulders, gripping his wrist in her other hand. He stumbled beside her, grateful for her support.

"Aeryn, I heard you. When I was…fighting Scorpy, I heard you, your voice, and you gave me the strength to fight him. You said…that I showed you you have a heart, and that you want to share it?"

"Yes, that's what I said," she told him.

"Aeryn Sun, I love you," John wrapped his other arm over and around her waist as best he could.

"I love you too, John Crichton," Aeryn turned to face John, cupping his face in her hands and, leaning in, kissed him thoroughly. When they finished, he smiled against her lips.

"We should be getting down to Zhaan's lab, shouldn't we?" He asked, and she nodded slightly, not completely trusting herself to respond verbally.

"Yeah, we should." Taking his hand, she pulled him down the corridor, allowing him to take more of his own weight, they hurried down the Tiers, quickly arriving at Zhaan's lab. "John has a suggestion," Aeryn told the somber looking group. "What's wrong?" she demanded, concerned.

"The only thing we can think of to destroy these things is fire. We would have to burn Moya to destroy them," Zhaan told them, her expression somber.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, put away the barbeque forks, fellas. I've got an idea that may just make that completely unnecessary. Zhaan, did you try drowning the creature?"

"Of course, John. It had no effect," Zhaan explained. "The creature seems impervious to water."

"Well, what about an electric current run through the water?" Aeryn could tell, form the expression on Zhaan's face, that the idea was a good one.

"D'Argo, I need another bug," she told him quickly, and he nodded, pulling one out of a small container and tossing it to her. She dropped it in a clear plastic container, which she filled with water, and then carefully dropped a live electrical cable into it. It fizzed and sparked, then the bug collapsed, apparently lifeless. Zhaan pulled the wire out of the wall, cutting the electrical connection, then she removed the bug, which was indeed dead.

"Wonderful, John. It works," Zhaan told him, before comming Pilot quickly and questioning him on the feasibility of the plan. Pilot was uncertain, but when he heard the only other option, he quickly decided to go with the electrocution plan.

"We'll need lots of water; more than we have on board. There's a planet with low gravity and large seas on the edge of Moya's sense horizon, we can be there within two arns. I will keep the bugs confined to their current location until we get there, then we will land and flood those tiers, send through several electrical pulses and then we'll pump it out. If we collect the bugs, we may be able to make them back into the ingots we had in the first place." Pilot gave his closest attempt at a smile. "Thank you, Commander Crichton, for coming up with a solution for us."

"You're welcome, Pilot," John replied, staring blankly straight ahead, but raising a hand in the direction of the clamshell. Aeryn smiled at his attempt, then pulled on his hand gently.

"You hungry?" she asked when she had his attention.

"Starving," he declared, smiling in her general direction.

"Let's go see what there is to eat, then." She pulled him gently out of the room, ignoring the expression on D'Argo's face, smiling sympathetically at Chiana, who was standing with her back to D'Argo, her arms crossed and face resolute.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I am so sorry it took me so long to come back to this. My muse did a runner, but I'm getting back to Farscape again and hope to finish this one soon, provided I can feed the Muse enough of it! Please review, help me think! Love xx Shezzi

Aeryn led John out of the infirmary and started towards the galley, but John had other ideas. As soon as the sounds of the others had faded behind them, he turned in her grip, and cupping her cheek gently, bent to kiss her. "Not hungry for food," he told her, when they pulled apart, panting slightly.

Aeryn grinned, and pulled him down again, lips locking as tongues slid over each other, dueling for supremacy. She pulled back, and led the way to the nearest empty quarters as fast as she could, pulling the privacy curtain across the locked grating as they entered.

She slipped her hands under John's jacket, sliding off his shoulders to fall to the floor, then kicked it out of the way. John tugged on her vest with slightly clumsy fingers, undoing the zip and repeating Aeryn's actions to slide it down her arms. His hands dropped to her waist as he lowered his head to nuzzle her neck, working entirely on feel, and started to toy with the lower hem, fingers brushing lightly against the skin that showed between top and leather pants.

Aeryn moaned as he bit her neck lightly, his tongue soothing the area right after. She pulled his shirt out of his pants and ran her hands under it, stroking up his back. He did the same to her, even as she pulled him backwards onto the bed.

Chiana sat on the floor of the cargo hold, frowning. She didn't know what to do, and she was so angry! He was so unreasonable; they had been trying to do their best, and John had almost been killed because D'Argo insisted on rushing in, but still, the Luxan refused to forgive his friend.

She huffed angrily, and stood, brushing her hands against her pants. She needed to do something; she couldn't just sit. She moved over to the mats Aeryn had set up for sparring and centered herself. She started a pattern dance that was particular to a type of martial arts practiced exclusively by Nebari, moving through the sinuous motions, slowly gaining speed.

As she moved, she thought. She didn't agree with D'Argo, but she could understand his current frustration. Knowing that his son would be sold into slavery couldn't be easy on the emotional Luxan, particularly when he himself had been unjustly imprisoned for murdering the boy's mother. She sighed; she didn't know what to do. She cared for D'Argo, but John was like a brother to her, and D'Argo's attitude was hurting him.

She finally finished the set, coming to a stop in a 'kill' position over her imaginary opponent. She slumped down, and frowned again. Finally making up her mind, she stood and went in search of a certain Luxan warrior.

She found him staring out at the stars from the balcony, hands braced against the railing. "D'Argo," she said simply, waiting for him to notice her.

"Chiana," he growled, turning towards her. "You don't understand."

"No, I understand perfectly, D'Argo. John put himself in incredible danger to save YOU. To save your son, which we now have a chance to do. And he got terribly injured doing it. And even terribly injured, he found a way to save us AGAIN. And all you can do is just criticize. Is be angry because he wouldn't go along with it right from the start, because he only came in when you forced his hand. Actually, you know what, you're right. I don't understand. I don't understand how you can still be angry at him after that." So saying, she turned again and stormed away, only to stop after a few steps with a sigh.

"That isn't what I came out here to say," she said, not turning around. "I came to say I'm sorry for fighting. Crichton is like a brother to me, as much as Neri was, and you're hurting him, and I can't stand that, but you're my lover. I can't actually pick a side on this one, I can see both points of view, so from here on in, I'm going to be neutral. But in that comes something else – you can't come to me and grouse about him. I don't expect him to be grousing about you. He's a better person than that. Do you understand? I don't want to fight anymore, and to that end, I am not going to take sides, but at the same time I can't be hearing about the sides."

D'Argo swallowed hard. Her first, angry exclamations had made some hard points for him, and he was forced to admit their truth. "Chiana," he interrupted her, laying a gentle hand against her lips. "You were right."

"I was? I mean, I was," she replied firmly.

"I've misjudged John. I'll talk to him, make sure he knows that I know that," D'Argo declared. "And if we can reform the money and make it back into its original ingots we can still make it to the auction and buy Jothe's shipment, free Stark's people as well as my son. I owe you can apology also, Chiana. I'm sorry."

The fact that D'Argo unbent enough to apologize meant a lot. "I accept your apology on my own account. And once you've actually said that to John, I'll come back to your bed. Understand?"

"I understand," he replied.


End file.
